Tonight's TV Hot List: Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009

Criminal Minds9/8c CBS Gavin Rossdale is better known as a musician than an actor, but he gets to meld the two professions when he guest stars as a rock star in this episode. As the team tracks a serial killer, they make the connection that the murders seem to match up with the touring schedule of a goth rocker (Rossdale) that they suspect has become lost in his dark stage persona. — Bill Ecklund

43rd Annual CMA Awards8/7c ABC Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood host the 43rd annual CMA Awards at the Sommet Center in Nashville, and it promises to be a memorable event. The gala boasts unusual artist parings, such as Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews sharing the stage, and Vince Gill performing with Daughtry. Kid Rock is slated to duet with Jamey Johnson, who is nominated for four awards tonight. Another performer with four nominations, Taylor Swift, hopes to add to her burgeoning trophy case in a year that has seen her gain everybody's stamp of approval except for Kanye West's. — Fred Mitchell

Return to Duty9/8c MTV In honor of Veterans Day, MTV is debuting a documentary that offers a very personal and candid look at life in a war zone. When we last saw Real World: Brooklyn alum Ryan Conklin, he was putting his life on hold to return to Iraq for his second tour of duty with the U.S. Army. Cameras continued following Conklin (who enlisted after 9/11), from his final moments at home with his family to the streets of Baghdad, where he's serving as a patrol gunner. Rarely is reality TV this real. — Karen Andzejewicz

Nip/Tuck10/9c FX Teddy certainly is creepy — just like Colleen Rose, come to think of it. That Sean sure knows how to pick 'em. What'll Teddy do tonight? Or, perhaps, what'll that opera-loving attacker (Matthew Glave) do to her? Meanwhile, it appears that Matt's career as the Marcel Marceau of crime is over. Taking a bullet can do that. And this McNamara family crisis has roused Julia from New York, as Joely Richardson makes her first appearance this season. — Paul Droesch

Glee9/8c Fox"Defying Gravity." You know, that blockbuster from Wicked. It's a song for a girl, but Kurt thinks he can sing it better than Rachel at the regionals. We'll see. Meanwhile, the bus that'll take the glee kids to the regionals isn't equipped to handle Artie's wheelchair, and that presents a problem. So does Principal Figgins' insistence that Sue hold an open tryout to fill Quinn's slot on the Cheerios. But it'll expose a side of Sue that you certainly haven't seen before. — Paul Droesch